Game Diary: TCU/Kansas
12.09.04
I'm planning to do a running diary on the TCU/Kansas game tonight. It could well be a blowout, but TCU was one of my sleeper teams at the beginning of the season, so I should get to know them better. One edge TCU has on KU is depth - they have 9 players averaging double figure minutes and a tenth who's close. TCU has never beaten a top five team and has lost 44 of 45 road games against ranked teams all-time. (Thanks, TCU athletic department.)
1st half
15:40 KU 6, TCU 6 - The guard matchup was the marquee billing for this game. But so far Shropshire and Santee have been jittery with a couple of giveaways early, While Miles and Langford have shown intensity like this is a conference game.
11:52 KU 14, TCU 12 - This game has no flow so far. TCU missed one of two on their first trip to the line. On the year they shoot less than 60% on free throws, so this is a problem area. TCU coach Neil Dougherty bears a striking resemblance to the kid from 'Webster.'
7:42 TCU 24, KU 21 - It's becoming apparent that if TCU is going to stay in this game, their depth will be the key reason. They have withstood the early energy from the Jayhawks and have found a rhythm. TCU can also afford to give a few more fouls than most KU opponents, and those fouls will come in handy since KU has an speed/athleticism advantage at most positions.
3:37, KU 38, TCU 33 - KU goes on an 11-0 run, but it's punctuated by Keith Langford's third foul, and on the next trip down the court, a Bill Self technical. Nile Murry makes four free throws in a row for TCU to momentarily stop the bleeding. KU's rebounding and turnover advantage have allowed them to shoot 13 more field goals than TCU so far.
Halftime - KU 47, TCU 37 - A comedy of turnovers and blocked shots to close out the half for TCU. TCU finishes the half with 14 turnovers, which needless to say is impossible to overcome against Kansas. Were TCU not hitting a respectable 48% from the field - and few of them were layups or dunks - this game would be out of reach. The biggest surprise is that KU's Christian Moody has 6 points. Coming into the game, he had more fouls (13) than made field goals (8).
2nd half
15:59 - KU 53, TCU 45 - If nothing else, I got to see Christian Moody's career high! He's dared by the TCU defense to shot from 17 feet and connects, giving him eight points. It's pretty sound strategy to say "Hey, if somebody's going to beat us, let it be Christian Moody." The problem is Moody is beating TCU, and so are Simien, Giddens, Miles, and Langford.
13:36 - KU 55, TCU 50 - A mini-run by TCU, even amidst what continues to be TurnoverFest '04, forces Bill Self to get a timeout. I swear at one point I heard Fran Fraschilla use the term "K-hawk," but I could be hearing things.
11:52 - KU 59, TCU 52 - Fraschilla tells us the "teardrop" is so named because the ball "comes down soft." Wouldn't a better name be the "parachute" or the "pillow?" TCU is up to 19 turnovers. But they're not going to challenge Hampton's season high of 37 against Clemson earlier this year.
7:53 - KU 69, TCU 56 - The Horned Frogs finally come back to earth on their shooting, at one time missing nine shots in a row. They've missed their last six shots from three. You're not going to stay in too many games with a 1:3 assist-to-turnover ratio.
3:08 - KU 80, TCU 67 - Christian Moody!! Moody has the assist of the year so far with a no-look over the shoulder toss to Giddens who converts a three. And while Ron Franklin and Fran Fraschilla are obsessed with whether certain players can get a double-double, Moody records his first career single-double without much fanfare - on a long two that gives him ten points. TCU's Nile Murry leads all scorers named after a river or not with 20 points so far.
Final KU 93, TCU 74 - Honestly, I didn't watch much of the final minutes, insteading opting to see the close of the UConn/UMass game which had enough bizarre moments in the final 10 seconds to produce of lengthy post on its own. I did manage to see Moody grab his 10th rebound, completing a double-double. Then, and only then, did he get much deserved praise from the announcers.
As far as TCU goes, they're too dependent on jump shooter to be less inconsistent than they were last season. They can compete in CUSA because there is a vacuum after the top three, but getting an at-large bid may be a little much to ask because their big men have little finishing ability.
Bye Bye Bibby
On Monday, USC coach Henry Bibby became the first head coach to be fired this season. And on Wednesday, Jim Saia became the first interim head coach to lose a game this season, as USC fell to Fresno State 71-68 at the Sports Arena.
It's been hashed and rehashed about how the timing of the move was puzzling. If AD Mike Garrett was comfortable having Bibby coach the team before the season began, what could change in four games? If he wasn't comfortable with Bibby in April, why not fire him then?
The thing is, Bibby was a pretty good coach. Sure, you're not going to find too many people who vouch for his character or that he has a warm personality, but he could coach. I could list what he did at a school with a pretty pathetic basketball history, however I'll let the USC Sports Information Department do it for me.
It's too early to second guess the choice of Bibby's permanent replacement. So I'd like to look back at coaching changes from four years ago, best and worst, but mainly the best. I chose four years because that is usually when you'd like to see results from a new coach. There were 50 changes in the 2000 offseason. Here are the ones that turned out the best.
1) Georgia Tech. Bobby Cremins resigns, replaced by Siena head coach Paul Hewitt. Hewitt came from Siena where in three years he won 66 games with a team that won nine games the year before he arrived. The trend has been similar at Georgia Tech, with Hewitt leading a steady ascent to the top of college hoops.
2) Illinois. Lon Kruger goes to the NBA, replaced by Tulsa head coach Bill Self. Kruger didn't exactly leave the cupboard bare, but Self was able to improve on what he inherited. When he moved on to Kansas three years later, he left a foundation for greatness that Bruce Weber is enjoying today.
3) North Carolina. Bill Guthridge retires, replaced by Notre Dame head coach Matt Doherty. OK, so Doherty got fired three years later, but his recruits may well win it all this season and that should count for something. Plus, Matt Doherty was the first player I really hated growing up, and I kind of feel guilty about it.
4) Memphis. Johnny Jones (interim head coach) replaced by 76ers assistant John Calipari. Memphis was still reeling from the Tic Price debacle the previous season when Calipari came calling. Calipari's NBA career was a failure, but he has led Memphis back to respectability by relying on blue chippers that have fled (or will flee) early to the NBA. The Tigers still haven't returned to the Dana Kirk greatness of yore, but they're back to being an annual lock for the Tournament.
5) Air Force. Reggie Minton fired, replaced by Princeton assistant Joe Scott. Air Force decided to get semi-serious about hoops and fire Minton, who had coached the Falcons for 16 years and produced a record that was 145 games under .500. As opposed to Bibby, you couldn't find an acquaintance of Minton who wouldn't vouch for his character and warm personality. Scott led Air Force to it's first ever at-large bid in his fourth year and then went back to Princeton.
Worst hirings? Nolan Richardson III at Tennessee State and Perry Clark at Miami of Florida.
Not Flashy
12.08.04
The Syracuse/Oklahoma State game was a big dud. I don't care how much people want to talk about great defense, the big game last night was a replay of the 2002 NCAA Final between Maryland and Indiana, especially for the first 30 minutes. With all of that talent on the court, someone should have been making plays, but instead it was one unforced error after another. How disappointing was the game? Probably the fact that today's water-cooler talk will center around the Cowboys piling on with two meaningless buckets in the final second.
Two other games had a little more meaning when it comes to the postseason picture. Kent State may be the next mid-major darling, ending Creighton's unbeaten run with a convincing 67-58 win in Omaha. Kent already has two losses, albeit respectable ones at Marquette and at Old Dominion, and they don't have a eye-catching win. So they're going to be big fans of the best teams they have beaten, Creighton and Florida State, the remainder of the season. Two road/neutral wins against top 50 teams would be worth a lot towards an at-large bid.
The Mountain West is looking more and more like a one-bid league for the second time in their six year history. Utah State fell to the Mastodons of Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne 64-59 in the night's biggest upset. This hurts the MWC because USU won the Beehive State Championship by crushing both BYU and Utah. Any loss to a school with Indiana or Purdue in their name hurts the post-season profile, but the loss to IPFW is the worst of them all since they will struggling to keep their RPI rank below 300 by season's end. So it makes it that much harder for either Utah-based MWC team to justify the USU game as a "good loss."
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